As we have progressed through school we’ve all heard stories about high school, and how “scary” it can be. Freshmen are coming into a new place, with thousands of kids they don’t know, and constantly hear these stories about how high school is “supposed” to be. However, we have no idea whether these rumors or myths are true or not. All of these rumors have most likely been building up since the first High school was built in 1821, steadily progressing and building up to be even more outrageous as the years go on. However, the students of West Ottawa High School are about to tell everyone how it really is.
“Freshman Friday”
I’m sure everyone has heard rumors about how Freshman get shoved into lockers but is that rumor really true? “It’s been three weeks of school and I have yet to be shoved into a locker, and I haven’t seen any other freshmen get shoved in one either,” said Frosh, Taylor Sarber.
“Cliques”
West Ottawa high school is not like the beloved movie “Mean Girls”. There isn’t cliques who only hang out and who will only be seen with their “group”. Students at West Ottawa tend to be very friendly and open to making new friends. “There are not cliques to the extreme like seen in movies, but in any school or organization there are going to be different groups of people who associate themselves with people who have the same interests”, Sr. Mitch Frauenheim said.
“It only gets harder”
Over the years I used to complain to my mom about how hard my school work is and she would always say “It only gets harder” but as time went on I’ve noticed that it really doesn’t get harder, it’s actually gotten easier. “I’m a junior and so far the school years haven’t really gotten harder. I mean, the previous years have prepared you for the year ahead of you. The only thing is that junior year is when you have to take the SAT and I’m not looking forward to that”, Jr. Penny Perez said.
“Your GPA Defines You”
As students progress through high school they notice a number that constantly changes, whether it’s going up or down. That number is your GPA, and that number does NOT define you. “Your GPA does not define you because I have a 3.55 GPA but I’ve taken 5 AP classes and 3 IB’s” said Sr. Jamesohn Bader. Therefore, you can try your hardest, go above and beyond, and still not have a perfect GPA.
“ Appearance is key”
“Appearance doesn’t matter because if you have friends based on what you look like then they’re probably not your real friends. What you wear shouldn’t mean anything”, Cheryl Smithey said. Appearance doesn’t really mean anything in high school and it definitely won’t mean anything in college the majority of the time. A lot of kids show up to school on a daily basis wearing sweatpants and baggy shirts, and guess what? NOBODY CARES. They still have friends, their sweatpants aren’t affecting how they do in class. Appearance is not the key.
For all of the freshmen who have doubts about high school, I hope this helps. High school is not a scary place. In fact, these four years will most likely be the best of your life, so take full advantage of it and do your best!